Kyrylo Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian occupation authorities in Kherson, has died, TASS reports.

“It’s true,” the press service of the Russian “military-civilian” administration in Kherson briefly stated when asked to comment on the information that first appeared on Russian Telegram networks.

Kherson officials do not specify the circumstances of Stremousov’s death, but according to information on Russian social networks, he died in a road accident.

Stremousov is the one who declared in a misleading video message last month that Bucharest and most of the world are Russian lands.

Who was Kyrylo Stremousov

Despite the fact that he was only the deputy head of the administration established by the Russian troops to invade Kherson, Stremousov is much better known even to the Russian public than his direct boss, Volodymyr Saldo, thanks to numerous video messages published on his Telegram channel, statements. provided to state media from Russia and interventions on Russian television.

In addition, Saldo was transferred to a hospital in Moscow on suspicion of poisoning in early August, and Stremousov remained the de facto leader of the Russian occupiers of Kherson just as the Ukrainian armed forces began to carry out numerous airstrikes in the region, which received HIMARS from the United States.

It was Stremousov who announced to the Russian press on July 27 that the strategic Antoniv bridge over the Dnipro had been closed due to Ukrainian attacks, and on August 22 he complained that the Ukrainians had hit him again, just as it was being repaired.

The video, released by Stremousov on his Telegram channel, went viral, including on Russian social networks, and was widely ridiculed for filming on August 30, a day after the Ukrainian press announced the start of the long-awaited counteroffensive in the south of the country. country, a clip in which he talks about the “useless” attack by Ukrainians, and the church in the background shows that he is actually in Russia.

Stray messages of a Russian official

Later, in early October, when the Ukrainian army managed to break through the Russian front in Kherson at several points and advance tens of kilometers in one day after more than a month of fierce fighting from static positions, Stremousov filmed himself with the Antonivskyi Bridge behind him. to show that he had not fled the region.

In mid-September, as Russian defenders tried to defend their fortifications in the region, Stremousov tried to support them, warning that the Ukrainians were “ready to eat our children” if they succeeded in retaking the territory.

Stremousov also stated live on the Rossiya-1 channel in early October that Russian troops are actually advancing when they are retreating.

Most recently, a few days ago, he explained on his Telegram channel that the evacuation of civilians from Kherson, which was requested by Volodymyr Saldo, his boss, who returned to his post after being discharged from the hospital, is actually a “vacation” in Russia. .

“To avoid casualties among the civilian population of the Kherson region during the “clearing” of the territory [de forțele armate ucrainene]the administration of the Kherson region strongly recommends taking advantage of the possibility of a humanitarian trip to the Russian Federation for rest and recovery,” he said last Friday.

His comments came just a day after Saldo called on Moscow to organize the evacuation of civilians from the Kherson region, where he heads the occupation administration, due to Ukrainian strikes.

“Take your children and leave,” he urged the people of Kherson in his statement published on social networks.

Follow the latest events of the 259th day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.